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O.S. nurse charged with writing fake prescriptions

A 32-year-old registered nurse from Ocean Shores is accused of taking a doctor’s prescription pad and writing fake prescriptions for the pain killer oxycodone.

Shanda R. Brooks is charged with two counts of attempting to obtain a controlled substance by fraud, and was scheduled for arraignment at 2:30 p.m. Monday.

The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Department received a report on April 25 from the Roger Saux Health Clinic in Taholah that fraudulent prescriptions had been used at the Safeway Pharmacy. A doctor told deputies the signature on the prescription was not his. He said the man whose name was on the prescription had never been a patient, but was the husband of one of the clinic’s nurses.

Deputies discovered other fake prescriptions had been filled by Brooks at pharmacies throughtout Grays Harbor County over the past several months, according to a Sheriff’s Office statement.

The Sheriff’s Office reported that a similar situation with Brooks was investigated by Aberdeen Police in February. Chief Criminal Deputy Steve Shumate said Grays Harbor Community Hospital contacted police about improper documentation of medication, concerned Brooks may have been stealing pills from the hospital.

Shortly after that, Brooks quit and the hospital apparently did not pursue the case, according to the Sheriff’s Office. She began working at the clinic sometime soon after.

“In fairness to the hospital, they did not know the extent of this,” Shumate said.

He said Brooks allegedly took a prescription pad from the hospital as well, and the department recommended four counts of attempting to obtain a controlled substance by fraud in that case.

The department recommended six counts of second-degree theft for theft of the actual prescription pads, but so far none have been filed.

It’s unclear if the clinic was aware of the allegations against Brooks prior to hiring her.

Shumate said there’s no indication Brooks was filling the prescriptions for anything but personal use, and her husband was apparently unaware of the situation.

“It’s unfortunate, she was a registered nurse, and it seems she did pretty good work, and she got hooked on prescription medication,” he said.

Brooks is held in Grays Harbor County Jail, and bail has not yet been set.